Florence has been known for beautiful design since the program to beautify the city began the 14th century, and lately, hotel designers in the city seem to be vying for the most elegant modern design with touches alluding to the city's history. As you'll see from my sampling below, this city of world-class art also boasts world-class artfully designed
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The Kitchen Remodel (Part 2)
This is the second post about the kitchen remodel. Have a look first, at Part 1 to see how the kitchen looked originally. When I returned from California, having vacated the apartment for two months for the lavori pesante---the "heavy works" as my architect termed it---this is how the place looked: While I needed an architect for the kitchen remodel, I wanted to
Read MoreThe Kitchen Remodel (Part 1)
Please everyone, for the love of god, check the chimney! If there's a chimney over a stove in the Italian house you're considering purchasing, don't do what I did. How did I manage to not look under the chimney? The geometra didn't mention it when I walked through with him and I didn't think of it. I know, epic fail! But I was so focused on the SIZE of the room. Yes, size
Read MoreRemodeling and Adding Electricity to a Living Room in Italy
This is the second in a series of posts about my experience remodeling an apartment in Florence. Here are images of the living room as it looked originally. I didn't hire an architect. I got some advice from my "Geometra" and then hired some Moroccan guys and attempted to be be a "manager" myself. This meant discussing masonry and electricity in Italian, which I'm
Read MoreRemodeling a Bathroom in Italy
This is the first in a series of posts about my experience remodeling an apartment in Florence. I had bought the apartment before the pandemic and I hadn't realized how much work it needed and how much it would feel like living in a warehouse until I was able to start renovations. The topic of the pandemic and surviving it in Italy arose on a recent tour I led for two
Read MoreA New Life In Sicily: Vineyards, Volcanos, and Chickens
I am pleased to add this interview to my Taking the Plunge series Here is Rachel Villa who moved from California to Sicily Where do you come from and when did you first have a connection with Italy in your life? My father was an officer in the US Navy, and we lived in Florida, California, Hawaii, and Japan. But I had never been to Europe. When I was 18, attending
Read MoreVideo Diaries from Lockdown
Video Diaries From the First Five Weeks of Lockdown Italy's President Giuseppe Conte announced Monday night, March 9 that the country would be under lockdown the following morning. It has been extended twice, first to April 3 and then to May 3. Day 11, March 20 Day 14, March 23 Day 15, March 24 Day 18, March 27 Day 32, April 3 Day 36, April
Read MoreChristmas Festivals in Florence
As someone who grew up without religion in a California beach town, I was intrigued when I moved to Italy by the length of the Christmas season and I was confused by some of the festivals. I learned that the season starts on December 8, with the Festival of the Immaculate Conception, and ends on January 6 with Epiphany. I assumed the conception being referred to was the one
Read MoreHouse Hunters Episode Prompts a Move to Lucca
I am pleased to add this interview to my Taking the Plunge series Why did this family move from the US to Lucca? Where do you come from and when did you first have a connection with Italy in your life? I was born in the Philippines but have spent most of my life in Southern California. My first connection to Italy was food. For as long as I can remember, Spaghetti al Ragu has
Read MoreThe Best Local Piazza in Florence (And it’s Organic Market)
Piazza Santo Spirito: Come here to hang out in the best local piazza in Florence. This piazza is in the Oltrarno which means âacross the Arnoâ (the other side of the river from civic and religious centers where the cathedral and town hall are.) If you feel overwhelmed by the crowds on the main side of the river, come over to the Oltrarno and hang out in Piazza Santo
Read MoreYour Residency and Exiting Italy
Does it affect your Italian residency to leave Italy for a period of time? I am back in the US visiting for the first time since my move to Italy fifteen months ago, and when a home-town friend asked me, "does it affect your Italian residency to come back to the US?" I realized that the answer to this question should be in a post on this part of my site about how to move
Read MoreItaly’s Prettiest Coastline
Liguria is my favorite region after Tuscany and it may have Italy's prettiest coastline. I usually go there to hike and swim but this time the draw is what my friends say are the best fireworks in Italy. My friends who come yearly to their ancestral home in Lucca's mountains, head to Rapallo every July to see the famous fireworks and I'm spontaneously going with them
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